Three Generations Ago
by Konflickted
Summary: Before Harry there was James, and before James there was...? James' mother has a nasty little secret, and her son suffers the consequences. With James' father in Azkaban, Mrs. Potter turns to a Potter enemy as an alli to right the wrongs and save all


A/N: We all know none of us created this world.

Prologue

She heard her name called out across the courtyard of Hogwarts; though she did not slow down to find out who was calling it. She already knew who was calling her name; that drawl was a trademark sound and she would have known it anywhere. Instead, she quickened her pace and headed straight inside the magnificent building, her shoes making a clicking sound on the stone steps. She ducked down a small corridor as quick as her feet would bring her, her books clutched as if they were a shield against her heart.

"Chloe? For Merlin's sake, where in the hell did you run off to now?" She heard him call, his thunderous footsteps landing hard on the stone, making a clunking sound. No doubt, those two idiots, Wallace Crabbe and Henry Goyle, were following. Chloe nearly laughed, but opted not to laugh. There was nothing funny about being pursued, even by someone as rich or charming as Abraxas Malfoy.

Chloe moved quickly from her hiding place, just incase Abraxas returned to search for her there. Chloe headed straight to Gryffindor tower, hoping that her luck would not run out before she made it to the portrait hole. At least he couldn't follow her in there, and then she could get some studying done in peace.

Luck would have it that she ran into Eileen Prince, though, and Chloe cringed. Though Chloe was normally a very friendly girl, she really struggled to be nice to Eileen. It wasn't even that she was smart, like Chloe was. No, that didn't threaten her in the least. It was that Eileen wanted nothing more than to have Abraxas to herself, and she blamed Chloe for that never happening. Chloe nearly had the heart to tell Eileen that Abraxas, while whiling to string the poor girl along for minion work, he wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pool. Abraxas didn't have relationships with poor people, it was a fact.

"Please, Eileen, don't tell Abraxas I'm in here. He'll never leave the portrait hole and I'll miss dinner again," Chloe begged. Eileen raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't know what he sees in you," Eileen said in her quiet, monotonous voice. Chloe nodded.

"I don't either. I wish he'd just move on," Chloe agreed hastily, not wanting to get into a verbal match with Eileen about Chloe's worth. She desperately just wanted to go inside and get some studying done.

"You'll have to face him eventually, so that the rest of us can have a chance with him, you know," Eileen sneered. Chloe nodded impatiently before another Gryffindor came out and Chloe slipped in the portrait hole. Sighing, she rested against the stone of the passage way to the common room.

"Chloe Lansing, what are you do lurking in the passage way?" A voice murmured in her ear. Chloe audibly groaned. If it wasn't Abraxas harassing her it was Dade Potter. She didn't know which one was worse.

"Mind your business," Chloe said waspishly.

"Terse, aren't we, Chloe. Keep it up, and I might think you don't like me," Dade teased as he continued through to the portrait. Chloe turned to shoot a witty remark back at him, but he had already shut the portrait hole. Shaking her head, she continued into the common room. She looked around at the others who were studying so diligently, and she thought to herself that it would be worth it. She had her N.E.W.T.s coming up in a few short weeks, and then she would be done forever with this place.

Not that she hadn't enjoyed it, because she had, Chloe was just ready to get the rest of her life started. She was showing great promise in transfiguration and potions, and if she scored high enough, she would certainly get a scholarship to the Auror Training Academy. Without it, she would go straight to work as a clerk in the Department of Mysteries. That was part of what kept Chloe running from Abraxas. It was well known that he did not associate with muggle born witches or poor witches. Chloe by no means had money. Abraxas only hung on to people while they remained useful to him. She still had no idea what her use was to him, yet and she had no desire to find out what it was.

Chloe shook the thoughts from her head. She needed to focus on her studies, and she needed to get as much studying in before Rococo Vernon called for Quidditch practice. She was a fair good chaser, but it would be worthless enough if she didn't do well on the exams. She headed over to an empty chair near the fireplace. It was a choice spot, and she wondered why no one had sat in it yet.

"Sorry," a little first year murmured to no one. Chloe looked at him curiously but understood his apology as her eyes began to water and she gagged.

"Ugh!" Chloe coughed as a few other kids laughed the teetering of their giggles grating on Chloe's last nerve. She held her shirt over her nose and glared at the boy.

"That's why they call me Skid," the boy whispered timidly. Chloe shook her head in disgust and gathered her things. She climbed the stairs to the girls' dormitory two at a time and took refuge in the seventh year girls' dormitory.

"Chloe, what's up?" her best friend and most trusted confidant, Isis, asked as Chloe threw her books on the bed. Isis waved her hand in front of her face, her nose scrunched up. "What is that smell?"

"Skid, the first year. I accidentally sat next to him in the common room," Chloe growled. She snatched a bottle of Isis' perfume off the top of the vanity and sprayed herself liberally. "Better?"

"You smell like a whore now," Isis teased. A grin spread across Isis' face, her brown eyes twinkling. "So have your two suitor managed to pin you down yet?"

"If you mean Abraxas or Dade, then no, they haven't though I did pass Dade on the way in. He was as charming as every," Chloe groaned as she rolled her eyes. "I actually ran for my life when Abraxas tried to get my attention."

"No, you didn't! Chloe, honestly," Isis said rolling her eyes. She flipped her dark brown hair behind her shoulder.

"Isis, really, I've told him time and time to leave me be, but even the most direct insistence, he just won't listen," Chloe practically whined. Isis patted the bed next to her, and Chloe sat down. They sat in silence for a bit, Isis' finger running through the champagne colored waves of Chloe's hair.

"Why don't I read your cards, Chloe," Isis said suddenly as she stood and headed over to her trunk. She began pulling different items of the occult from her bag.

"I don't know, Isis. You know those things creep me out," Chloe said hesitantly. Isis grinned at her.

"You're a witch, Chloe. You above all should embrace the cards," Isis said as she pulled a small box from her trunk. "You know, my mother and my grandmother were both seers. Descendants from Selah, the Great Seer, you know."

"I know," Chloe said. She couldn't help but laugh. Isis grinned.

"Then it is decided, Chloe. Let's see whether you are meant to be with the ghost headed boy or the midnight headed boy," Isis said, referring to Abraxas' unnaturally white-blond hair and to Dade's unnaturally peculiar shade of raven color hair. Chloe hesitantly agreed and Isis removed her Tarot cards from their silken wrapping. She touched the cards briefly before she handed them to Chloe.

Sighing, Chloe began to shuffle the cards slightly, putting her imprint on the cards again. Ever so often, Isis would talk Chloe into letting her cards be done. Chloe trusted Isis, but the whole cards reading your future really wigged her out. Chloe was still man-handling the cards lightly as their friend, Venga, entered.

"Ooh, is it time to do Chloe's cards again?" Venga asked as she offered Isis a Berty's Every Flavor Bean.

"Yes," Isis said as she shook off the offering. She had gotten too many odd flavored ones, including ones she wanted to forget.

With in ten minutes, ten cards were laying in a Celtic cross in front of Isis. She was looking at them with her eyebrows knitted in concentration. Isis was quiet for a long time, studying the cards. Chloe looked at her worried. Isis was never quiet for long.

"What is it?" Chloe demanded. Isis looked up at her, shaking her head.

"I don't know," Isis said.

"What do you mean you don't know," Chloe demanded.

"I mean, I don't understand exactly what the cards are saying about your future. What question did you ask the spirits?" Isis asked. Chloe blushed.

"I asked what my next ten years will have in store for me," Chloe said. Isis looked down at the cards. She took a deep breath.

"I see two sons, one who looks of lightness but is filled with dark, and one who looks of darkness but is filled with light," Isis said taking a deep breath again. "One of your sons will live a charmed life, while the other will die an early death, but that seems to be in the very distant future."

"So, which of the men will be the lucky father to these sons?" Venga asked. Isis looked down at the cards. In them, she saw the King of Pentacles and the King of Wands. The King of Pentacles looked the most like Dade, and the King of Wands looked the most like Abraxas, as was the way of Tarot.

"I…" Isis trailed off looking at the cards. She had known Chloe since they were both little girls. Chloe was the most honorable and trustworthy person she knew. Isis looked again at the cards, and then at Chloe.

"What?" Chloe insisted.

"I think I might be misreading the cards, so maybe we should do this again another day, Chloe," Isis suggested weakly.

"You know what, Isis, I don't want to know," Chloe said quickly as she looked at the cards. She scooped them up in her hand and handed them back to Isis. Chloe turned to Venga. "Can I get one of those beans?"

"Sure," Venga said as she held the bag out to Chloe. She picked a bright red one.

"Yeah cherry," Chloe said. She popped it into her mouth and began to chew. She made a face.

"Not cherry?" Isis asked weakly.

"Blood," Chloe said as she forced herself to swallow. Isis made a face and replaced her Tarot cards in their silk, placing them safely in their ornate box. Isis stored them in the trunk, slamming the lid shut before she retreated back to the bed, trying to force the knowledge from her mind. She was successful for the moment as talk turned to the upcoming exams.


End file.
